Why I Don’t Keep a Travel Blog

Last year Alyssa and I drove our RV to 48 states. This year we flew to Hawaii and drove to Alaska. In addition to finishing up the last two states, I also coordinated and went on a 25 city book tour for a published author. Since the earlier part of 2014 most of my life has been spent on the road traveling in one way or another. Most of the time when people begin traveling, the first thing they do is launch a blog.

I did exactly that.

Last April before we hit the road I launched HeathPadgett.com. I knew I would document our journey across the country, but I wanted to do so in a different way than most travel blogs. Most travel blogs feature elaborate stories about what happened that day on the road, what broke, where you ate, etc. My wife Alyssa does the whole travel blogging thing like no other because she’s an amazing story teller and can take any moment and turn it into a wonderful post (I don’t have this skill).

What I have is a love for entrepreneurship, business, ideas, and living a less conventional life. This is the reason why I decided to go and work a job in all 50 states– I was bored in my day job and wanted to do work that felt more fulfilling. I didn’t do it so I could write about the best restaurant in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (Persephone Bakery, btw).

And over the past year, I’ve found a few key subjects that I like talking about (so far) more than just about anything. Here is the short list of the things I’ve written about (and will continue writing about) here on my blog.

How to travel extremely cheap. Most people don’t think it’s possible for them to travel the country because they are too young, broke, or know too little about RVing. That’s why I launched my free 7 day email course how to travel full-time on less than $2k/month (it has already been downloaded by 500+ people this year). Plus, you get to join my awesome Facebook group called “make money RVing”.

How to start a business or make money on the road. Now that I have a great resource that teaches how to travel cheap, I’m doing a series of interviews and blog posts on how to make money and travel (read/listen to the first interview here). I’m pulling in all kinds of full-time travelers who have learned to generate incomes on the road, plus my own knowledge of creating different income streams in the past year.

I have no desire to be another person talking about how to fix a leak. While I find value in researching these posts when I need some help, I don’t want to be the person who writes them (as I find it extremely boring to write these kinds of posts, but I’m grateful for the person who does write them when my roof is leaking).

So if you came here to my blog hoping to read about all of the amazing details of my not-so-glorious life on the road, I’m going to have to disappoint you (however, I do recommend you read some of the entertaining travel stories on my bride’s website). On the other hand, if you want to learn how to find a sponsor to pay you to travel around the country, I can help with that. Or if you’re interested in started a remote income business, I can help with that too.

Living full-time on the road doesn’t have to be a pipe dream. You don’t have to wait until you pay off all your student debt or strike it rich. It’s something you can start much sooner than you think. The problem is that most people don’t believe it’s possible. The status quo says you should get an average job after college and spend the next 10-15 years sitting in an office while your student debt accrues massive amounts of interest (get out… get out now!).

I started this blog because I believe there is a different way to do life. You don’t have to wait for retirement to travel. You don’t have to work in an office. You don’t have to live in “the real world” we hear talked about all too often. There is a much more exciting world out there, waiting for people who are willing to take the risks to find it.

So that is what I will share here on my blog– all of the resources you need to live a life that beckons adventure.

What can I write about that could be helpful for you as a fellow traveler or someone who is thinking about traveling? What is the biggest lesson you feel travel has helped teach you? Leave a comment below, would love to hear from you.